POPSUGAR Celebrity

What's Best About Thanksgiving? Chefs Tell Us on Twitter

Nov 15 2011 - 4:30am

In a little over one week, all of America will collectively be cooking up a frenzy of comfort food. To get you psyched for the biggest foodie holiday of the year, we enlisted the feedback of none other than the world's greatest foodies themselves: chefs. Using our favorite social media device, Twitter [1], we asked everyone from Top Chef Michael Voltaggio to Cooking Channel's Kelsey Nixon to tell us about their favorite aspect of turkey day.

@ruthreichl: The comraderie

"What's best about Thanksgiving? The house filled with people, meals that never end, everyone in the kitchen, pitching in," Ruth Reichl [2] gushed, as if there were too many reasons to list [3]. Her facetious counterpart, RuthBourdain [4], fired back [5]: "What's best about Thanksgiving? Snorting marshmallows off sweet potatoes & climbing inside the turkey's cavity for a long nap."

What's your favorite part of Thanksgiving?
Tell us what you're looking forward to most over Twitter [6] or in the comments!

@chefjoseandres: Being grateful for what we have . . . and the NFL

Restaurateur and TV host José Andrés [7] apparently has a soft spot for pastry — and American football. His favorite part of Thanksgiving [8] is "making pecan pie with daughters and watching the NFL, and to give thanks for what we have."

@guarnaschelli: Playing squirrel

If Food Network's Alex Guarnaschelli [9] were an animal, she'd be a squirrel. "Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday," she declared [10]. "I love eating turkey while dreaming about digging into the pies." And this [11]: "Shopping and cooking and loading up like a squirrel filling the tree with acorns for the Winter." Don't you feel cozier already?

@fabioviviani: Not eating a turkey

More than a few people could do without the bird [12], and (gasp!) Fabio Viviani [13] is one of them. "I love the fact that you REALLY don't need a turkey to have fun for Thanksgiving," he tweeted [14]. Note: the Top Cheffer really doesn't like cilantro [15], either.

@bryanvoltaggio: Relaxing

Cooking for the whole family: relaxing? Yep, that's what Bryan Voltaggio [16] said. "Eating and cooking with family; all the great flavors of comforting food during the cool Fall weather," he quipped [17]. "Relaxing day!" When one operates a restaurant that seats up to 70 guests [18], even cooking for 20 is probably no big deal.

@chefartsmith: Memories of Thanksgivings past

Oprah's former chef Art Smith [19] couldn't have had a better year — he dropped 95 pounds [20] and married his longtime partner in a star-studded wedding ceremony [21] — but the Chicago restaurateur loves reminiscing about Thanksgivings past. "We all expect delicious comfort food served family style. I hate plated food in the home. I think it's unfriendly," he wrote [22]. Turkey day "brings back memories of past Thanksgivings [23], when I make my family's recipes."

@GailSimmons: A long, cozy nap

Turkey makes everybody sleepy, but Top Chef Just Desserts host Gail Simmons [24] doesn't mind: "I love all of Thanksgiving: Spending a day in the kitchen with friends and family, feasting together, then taking a long, cozy nap!" she confessed [25]. We're sleepy already.

@EricRipert: Getting in touch with his Puerto Rican side

"I am so lucky to own a fish restaurant," Eric Ripert tweeted [26]. "Every year, I spend Thanksgiving with my family instead of roasting 1,000 turkeys [27]." Even better than not serving on turkey day? Getting in touch with his Latin side [28]: "I have a lot of fun, partying, dancing — part of the family is Puerto Rican." Eric, we'd love to see you salsa!

@MVoltaggio: Perfecting moist turkey

A succulent bird in Michael Voltaggio's [29] hearth isn't hard to come by. His favorite part of the holiday? "Making moist turkey [30]! It can be done," he writes.

@KelseyNixon: The leftovers!

You're not alone in loving Thanksgiving leftovers [31]; The Cooking Channel's Kelsey Nixon [32] springs for them, too. "My fave thing about Thanksgiving is enjoying leftovers the next day," she told us [33]. "Nothing beats turkey on a fresh roll with cranberry sauce."